I was a kid with a big mouth and bigger opinions. I blame my older sister for that. When we were little, she was completely mute for a couple of years, which made me her mouthpiece. I was the one speaking for both of us. That's a lot of power to give a kid who just learned how to talk. I told the babysitter what TV shows we watched (Blue's Clues) and the McDonald's employees what we wanted (the kid's meal with the Beanie Babies toy). After that, I had the confidence of a politician. My parents were overjoyed.

Then came Jim Carrey and The Bell Jar, two odd pieces of art that would change my life. When Ace Ventura came out, I was obsessed. I watched it until I could regurgitate every line. I read The Bell Jar in the 5th grade, which was either a testament to my reading level or a precursor to my feminism. I became obsessed with the way Plath wrote, her detail and what she deemed important to explain.

These strange pieces are what made me want to write and perform. To the naked eye, they might not make sense together, but it's my joy to make sense of them for the masses.